DCS Talks

By DCSTalks

DCS Talks, is a podcast production of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. The intention of DCS Talks is to promote dialogue among child welfare professionals, foster parents and the entir... more

· Government

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FAQs about DCS Talks:

How many episodes does DCS Talks have?

The podcast currently has 63 episodes available.

DCS Talks episodes:

September 19, 2024 DCS Talks about Mindfulness with Steve Vann
In this episode of
DCS Talks, we have Steve Vann with us to discuss mindfulness in child welfare. Mr.
Vann is a professional counselor who serves as an Assessment Consultant with
the Center of Excellence for Children in State Custody at the Vanderbilt
University Medical Center. Beyond serving our agency through assessment
consultation Mr. Vann is also a regular practitioner of mindfulness and with all
his experiences, he is sensitized to the stress experienced in the child
welfare community whether you are a case manager, foster parent or community
partner there are a lot of stressors in
child welfare! I have asked Steve to join us today to discuss different ways to
experience mindfulness and why these practices are so important in child
welfare.
...more
36min
September 19, 2024 DCS Talks about Assessing for the Commercial Exploitation of Minors
In this episode of DCS Talks, we have Shelby Johnson with us to discuss assessing
for Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Minors . Ms. Johnson is a Licensed
Clinical Social Worker who serves as an Assessment Consultant with the Center
of Excellence for Children in State Custody at the Vanderbilt University
Medical Center. Beyond serving our agency through assessment consultation Ms.
Johnson also served as a case manager and team leader at DCS and has worked in
the education system as a social worker. Commercial Sexual Exploitation of
Children or CSEM refers to a range of criminal activities such as sex
trafficking, pornography, early marriage, essentially it is sexual abuse of a
minor for financial benefit including an exchange of anything of value.
...more
22min
March 11, 2024 DCS Talks Foster Youth Turned Teen Advocate
In this episode of DCS Talks, foster parent trainer Toney Horton sits down with former foster youth, and co-founder of Jonathan's Path, Taylor Hart DuRard, to discuss the child welfare system through the eyes of the youth.

This episode mentions our interview with Taylor's mom, Carrie DuRard, which can be found in our DCS Talks archive, Episode 51, "DCS Talks: Teen Placement and Advocacy" here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dcstalks/episodes/DCS-Talks-about-Teen-Placement-and-Advocacy-e1v3c6e
...more
19min
November 06, 2023 DCS Talks about the Indian Child Welfare Act with Susan Kovac
In this episode of DCS Talks, we have Susan Kovac with us to discuss the
Indian Child Welfare Act. Ms. Kovac has serves as General Counsel Emeritus at Department
of Children’s Services where she served as the lead attorney for the Knox
County Region as well as serving as an Associate Professor at the UT Knoxville
School of Law for over 13 years. Ms. Kovac has many special interests around
law and child welfare one of which is about the Indian Child Welfare Act or
ICWA. ICWA provides
guidance to States regarding the handling of child abuse and neglect and
adoption cases involving Native children and sets minimum standards for the handling
of these cases. This is November 2023 which is National Native or
Indigenous American Heritage month
...more
23min
September 25, 2023 DCS Talks about Caring Dads
In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness month, DCS Talks about the Caring Dads program.
...more
17min
July 25, 2023 DCS Talks about Early Education and Childcare
Join DCS Foster Parent trainer Toney Horton as he interviews current foster parents on their experiences with daycare and childcare facilities. Through this discussion topics such as prioritizing children's individual needs, daycare disruptions due to trauma behavior, and staff improvement through being trauma informed.
...more
14min
June 23, 2023 DCS Talks: Focus on you, Heal the Healer with Laurie Ellington
DCS Talks with Laurie Ellington CEO & Founder, Ancient Science, Inc. Inner Alchemy and The Path to Human Flourishing about the importance of self care as a caregiver.
...more
38min
June 08, 2023 DCS Talks about Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
In this episode of DCS Talks, DCS podcaster, Sirena Wilson will
discuss a basic concept in the Human Sciences, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
Many of us who have placed a focus in human sciences by studying, social work,
psychology, sociology, or health were introduced to Maslow’s concepts early on
in our education, the ideas that are outlined are fundamental to understanding
the basic needs of people. If you have a vocational path in these areas, you
too are familiar with Maslow’s but if you are not we think a basic introduction
would be very helpful in understanding the work we do in child welfare and we’d
like to share that with you in this podcast.
...more
11min
June 06, 2023 DCS Talks about Infant Mental Health with Jennifer Drake Croft
Jennifer Drake Croft works as a Project Director
in the Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health
(IECMH) Technical Assistance Center at Georgetown University, she serves
as a profession coach at the Association of Infant Mental Health in
Tennessee (AIMHiTN), an Adjunct professor at the University of Tennessee, and
where I first worked with Ms. Drake Croft she served as the Director of Child
Well-Being at the TN Commission of Children and Youth and lead an extremely
successful campaign to support local, state, and
national response and knowledge mobilization to prevent Adverse Childhood
Experiences (ACEs) and promote resilience.
...more
32min
April 19, 2023 DCS Talks about the Foster Home Quality Team with Program Leader Melina Smith
In this episode of DCS Talks we interview Melina Smith, the Program Manager of the Foster Home Quality Team at DCS. If there are concerns about a foster home, that home may be investigated by a special investigation unit, part of the process of that investigation includes that the case is reviewed by a group of child welfare professionals to help make determinations about the foster home that is in question.
...more
21min

FAQs about DCS Talks:

How many episodes does DCS Talks have?

The podcast currently has 63 episodes available.